'Saw IV' Loses Little Blood

by Brandon Gray

A scene from Saw IV

October 29, 2007

For the third year in a row, Halloween weekend was dominated by a Saw movie. The horror series didn't dull much in its fourth entry, Saw IV, snaring $31.8 million on approximately 4,600 screens at 3,183 theaters. That was the second-highest grossing Halloween opening behind Saw III's $33.6 million and slightly ahead of Saw II's $31.7 million. The first Saw kicked off with $18.3 million in 2004.

Saw IV's opening was a testament to the brand's strength, as it is rare for a horror sequel to maintain most of its predecessors' theatrical potency, and distributor Lionsgate's exit polling suggested that 90 percent of the audience had seen the previous three movies. The picture's main selling point was solely that it was the latest Saw. Other than the promise of more grisly puzzles, no new hook was presented in the marketing campaign and the slogan simply read "If it's Halloween, it must be Saw."

Despite Saw IV's start and a respectable showing from Dan in Real Life, overall weekend business was down from last year for the sixth time in a row. It was the least attended Halloween frame of this decade, due mostly to the weak crop of holdovers.

Dan in Real Life gathered a decent $11.8 million at 1,921 sites. That was by far the best recorded start for an adult comedy on Halloween weekend and was close to the similarly-themed The Family Stone. Though more dramatic than lead actor Steve Carell's $100 million movies, The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Evan Almighty, Dan stood out as a new, pleasant diversion against the dark and murky fare that has populated the market.

Steve Carell in Dan in Real Life

Last weekend's top grosser, 30 Days of Night, withered 57 percent to $6.9 million for $27.5 million in ten days, its drop on par with the last Underworld and Blade movies, but the season's leader, The Game Plan, again had the best hold among wide releases. Disney's family comedy eased 25 percent to $6.1 million for $76.9 million in 31 days.

Among expansions, The Darjeeling Limited rolled out nationwide to 698 venues but mustered a measly $1.8 million, which was significantly less than the wide launches of director Wes Anderson's previous movies. Also soft was Lars and the Real Girl, which had its major expansion on the same weekend of the similarly-titled Dan in Real Life, with $926,675 at 296 locations. Faring much better was independent release Bella, a drama targeted at Latinos and religious people, which debuted to $1.3 million at 165 sites.